Geneseo Christmas Walk draws a crowd

Good weather and a crowd of thousands helped make the 2012 Geneseo Christmas Walk a success.

“It went really well and the weather cooperated, which is always good,” said Geneseo Chamber of Commerce executive director Brian DeJohn.

Lisa Depies

Good weather and a crowd of thousands helped make the 2012 Geneseo Christmas Walk a success.

"It went really well and the weather cooperated, which is always good," said Geneseo Chamber of Commerce executive director Brian DeJohn.

"The parade went well. I had anticipated that event (which debuted in 2011) growing this year, but it pretty much stayed flat (in terms of participants)," said DeJohn. "I've already had people say they want to put together a float for next year, so I think it will grow."

The cornerstone of the event — originally called the Victorian Walk — are a series of "living windows" gracing the storefronts of downtown businesses.

"This year's windows were good. I'd like to see more live participants in the windows, and I think next year we'll put a call out to churches and organizations to try and get them to help fill the windows, as opposed to just having the businesses try to fill the windows," said DeJohn.

Though DeJohn said he was unsure of the exact number of Christmas Walk attendees, he estimates "thousands."

"In talking to two of the churches, they said they each served 275 dinners that night, so there's 500 people right there. The other restaurants and businesses likewise were full," he noted.

"Everything we do revolves around the kids. For us, our mentality is that we really have to focus on the kids. We try to tailor our activities for families and children," he said. "We try to add new things and freshen up the event every now and then."